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On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph P. McDonald manned the switchboard at Fort Shafter in Hawaii when he received the alarming message that radar had detected a large number of planes approaching from the north, heading fast for Oahu.
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Motorists who use the Pango mobile app to pay at parking meters in Scranton will get reimbursed for any inadvertent overcharges since Sept. 1, the new operator of the city’s parking system said.
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The student volunteers at the University of Scranton's Leahy Family Center are in a race against time.

They have committed to completing 1,888 hours of service in honor of the University's 125th anniversary by the end of the fall semester. As of mid-November they had 1,622 hours, according to David Linhares, 23, a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in health administration.

Mr. Linhares, head of the Leahy Center's Student Advisory Board, coordinates the volunteer efforts of every University of Scranton student who helps at the Leahy Center. On clinic days, he is always on the move, translating for patients who speak only Spanish or Portuguese or keeping tabs on the volunteers, whether they are working with a patient or catching a couple of minutes to breath in one of the conference rooms filled with volunteers' backpacks and offerings of soda and snack foods to keep them going.

"They want to be here," Mr. Linhares said of the student volunteers. On clinic days, roughly 20 student volunteers spend the day admitting patients or translating for them, while volunteer nurses and physicians administer medical care the center's mostly uninsured patients might not receive otherwise.

"They're here because they need the care," Mr. Linhares said. "They see the efforts and appreciate it."

The Leahy Center is a centerpiece in a long-standing tradition of community service at the university. Patricia Vaccaro, director of the center for service and social justice on campus, coordinates student volunteer efforts with 140 area nonprofits every year.

"We try to answer to the needs of the community," Ms. Vaccaro said. "We work very closely with nonprofit directors."

While the university does not enforce a service requirement on all of its students, Ms. Vaccaro said her office is never without volunteers.

"It's part of the culture here," she said.

Of the 4,000 undergraduate students at the university, 2,700 will participate in a community service project during their time on campus, Ms. Vaccaro said. With the help of those students, the university logs approximately 165,000 hours of service each year.

"It's such a wonderful thing for the community," Ms. Vaccaro said. "And this opens students' eyes to what the needs are in the world and how they can use their gifts and talents."

Arielle Ferry, a graduate assistant in the office, said working in the community gives students a different experience than they would get in a classroom.

"It's easy to sit in a class and learn about poverty and hunger," she said. "It's different when you're sitting across from someone experiencing it. I won't forget those people."

Michelle Dougherty, a senior at the university, has been involved with the office and its service efforts since her first year. She said her volunteer work shaped her studies and goals as she approaches graduation.

"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do when I first started," Ms. Dougherty said. "I wanted to change things and help people. I've learned how important individual interactions are."

Ms. Dougherty, a biology and philosophy double-major, hopes to pursue a career in public health in the Scranton area so she can remain engaged with the community's needs.

"I've made an effort in my time here to become a member of the community at large," Ms. Dougherty said. "I hope to maintain that connection."

For Ms. Vaccaro, students like Ms. Dougherty represent the university's tradition of education through community service.

"The expectation is you have to be of service," Ms. Vaccaro said. "You have a responsibility to do so as a person of this world."

Contact the writer: sscinto@timesshamrock.com, @sscintoTT on Twitter

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